Melestarikan Seni Tari Yang Hampir Punah

Hope: New Rims, Stems and More - Core Bike 2014

Hope have been making brakes and hubs for nearly twenty years now. At first they began expanding their line slowly, adding an item here and there, building up to a more and more complete range as they went. Recently their rate of development seems to have gone through the roof and we counted no less than seven new products on display from them at Core Bike (and one rather special team-issue bike)...

All-new Hope Rims

The big news from Hope is that they are moving into producing rims. No longer content to offer hubs and wheelsets using other people's rim, they have taken the plunge with two models: an XC rim and this, their enduro version. It sports a 23mm internal diameter. Looking at the cross section, you can see that internally there are three sections, to provide more stiffness and if you look really closely, you can see that at the bottom the rim is thicker than on the side, to prevent the rim deforming under tension from the spokes. They chose to use eyelets for the holes, which they acknowledge adds weight, but they feel will increase the longevity of the rim. Both models are tubeless-compatible. Some people may be a little disappointed to hear that their rims will not be produced in the UK, they are designed from scratch by Hope in the UK, but for production they took the tough decision to outsource it to the specialists in the Far East as they have so much expertise with this kind of metalwork.

---

Three New Stems

Hope had a pair of direct mount stems on offer, first was this conventional three-piece stem at 50mm long.

Second was this four-piece, 45mm option.

More interestingly we found this - their new 35mm stem. With bigger wheeled bikes and evolving geometries, we think people will start to find big benefits in going shorter and shorter with their stems and for in a generation or so of bikes we'd expect to see 35mm/40mm stem replace the 50mm as the length of choice for aggressive riders. This stem puts Hope ahead of the game there and, we reckon, this is one of the best looking 35mm stems we have yet seen.

---

Narrow/wide Chainring

Many people have been expecting one of these from Hope for a little while now - a narrow/wide chainring. As with all their chainring the finish and detailing on the machining is top notch.

---

Wide-range Cassette Convertor

Along with narrow/wide chainrings, the accessory most in demand right now is the cassette convertor - removing one of the existing sprockets on your cassette and putting a large sprocket at the start. What sets the Hope option apart from the versions we have seen so far are the little protrusions just inside the arms of the sprocket (they are hard to see from this angle). The idea is that these will support the new sprocket on your existing sprockets, offering a longer like and crisper shifting.

---

Revised Bottom Brackets

Hope's entire bottom bracket line has been revamped, the star of the show being their press-fit bottom brackets. You will still need a specific tool for them (which will retain at 25GBP), but it is considerable cheaper than getting a headset press, like you need with other designs. The key is the thread on the barrel inside the frame - you seat both sides and then use the tool to pull the sides together and seat the bottom bracket in your frame.

---

Team-Issue DH Race Bike

There as also this on the Hope stand that we couldn't miss: Market manager, Rachael Walker's team-issue race bike. Aside from being stunning, take a close look at that chainguide - it's an early prototype of a Hope downhill chainguide...

---

Purple...

Not new as such, but anybody who was riding bikes in the UK in the late 90s is likely to have a nostalgic soft spot for anything from Hope that is anodised purple...

---

www.hopetech.com